


Reign of Chaos

by Darksaphira



Series: Darksaphira's Story Chest [4]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Demonic Possession, Demons, Fantasy, Magic, Magical Artifacts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:19:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21661978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darksaphira/pseuds/Darksaphira
Summary: When a mage starts to mess with things he really shouldn't have messed with he frees one of the demon lords and leads him right into his home world.While the demon loses most of his powers in the transition he is hellbent to regain that power and reign this realm.In the meanwhile the shards of the Chaoscrystal, the source of the demon lords power, are scattered through the lands. They hold a lot of power, but they are prone to warp and corrupt any magic used in their vicinity. Chaos ensues as several faction scramble to obtain and understand the crystals powers as the barrier between the realms crumbles with every one that the demon lord regains...
Series: Darksaphira's Story Chest [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1256342
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

It was in the depth of midnight when a deafening crack tore the silence of the room asunder. The floating purple crystal in the middle of the lab burst into countless pieces. The experimenting mage did not get a chance to scream, or even mutter a surprised ‘Oh’, before the resulting magical discharge had disintegrated him completely. The last thing he saw though was a pair of burning violet eyes full of malice. 

With streaks of magic the shards of the crystal mostly, impossibly, flew from the room and scattered around the continent. All of this was done in a flash, while the small village above the mages buried laboratory slept on – the silencing spell on the room was the one spell of the night that did its work. 

Within moments white-hot flames started to lick on the building the mage had resided in, lighting the night brightly as they consumed the structure.  
It took only a short while for the first confused and still sleepy residents of the buildings around the place to look out into the night. Quickly many agitated citizens where on the streets and alarms where raised. No matter what the villagers tried though, water, spells or even heaping dirt on the flames, the fire burned on. To the relief of the whole village the flames never did leap to another building, contained as if by an unseen field. Theories that the fire was merely an illusion of the weird residential mage were quickly disproven, as the heat was very real and anyone stupid, or brave, enough to touch the flames did get blistering burns within seconds.  
So the people watched nervously as the flames continued to burn, until there was nothing left of the building to burn. Only then did they slowly start to die, leaving only charred ground and burned rubble behind. It was well into the morning when the people dared to return to sleep, if they could still sleep at all. No one dared to enter the burned grounds, that day and for many more to come. 

While all this happened, the chaotic magic energy that had been freed during the explosion crackled and brewed under their feet as the being that the crystal had been meant to contain fought to cross fully into this sphere. 

When Kaltos finally became aware of his surroundings, he was weak – far weaker than he should have been even after a successful crossing. When he tried to assess himself, he found that he had barely any powers left. His essence was bound to a human body, bound to the rules and limits of this sphere. A deep growl rumbled deep in his throat as he forced the weak body to rise to its feet and open its eyes. 

He stood taller than most humans would, generally rivaling the height of most elves, his build firm and speaking of strength barely covered in a pair of pants and a long and open-hanging leather coat. Long and wild black hair fell over his shoulders. The most otherworldly feature of him were his eyes though. In their almond-shaped form more similar to an elves than a human his eyes held a deep violet glow that betrayed his demonic origin. 

These eyes surveyed the area of his crossing. The room as empty, no living thing outside of himself awaiting him. Whatever it had once contained was smashed to pieces, into bits of wood, metal and glass strewn across the room. He couldn’t have guessed what any of it had once been if he’d cared to try. In between the pieces of regular human materials, buried in the rubble that had been this rooms furniture, where lightly glowing purple shards. 

“No! Stupid, useless creatures.” The demon shouted as he finally understood. Understood why he was so weak, why he’d been bound into a physical body. If there had been anything left to smash he would have smashed something, but as it was he simply strode through the room and scooped the biggest piece he could see into one of his hands. He could feel the raw energy of his essence pulsing through it as he closed his hand around the piece. With a rush the sliver of energy disintegrated as he absorbed the power of the artifact. He made quick work of the remaining small shards he could see – and feel – around the room. 

Still the power he had gained from that left him unsatisfied. Whoever had freed Kaltos had spectacularly fucked the ritual up and surely deserved whatever fate had befallen him after it had been done. The energy contained in the crystal had never been meant to be set free like this, all of it should have gone straight back to him. Now the crystal was shattered and spread all across this realm and he just knew that the mortals here would foolishly try to use its power. He’d have to be the one to gather them back together if he wanted to unlock his whole power. 

He closed his eyes and stuck out his hands, calling forth his blades. The first one came, slowly, agonizingly materializing in his right hand. A blade so big that any human trying to wield it would use it with both hands, if at all, the blade dark as shadows in the deepest night. When it was done it felt perfect in his hand. The second blade had only started to form as a vague shape when Kaltos had to abort the try. Staggering the demon fell to his knees, the second blade vanishing in a wisp of purple smoke as his concentration broke. He wretched for a few moments before he again gained his composure. 

The chaos-magic’s toll was too high for his weakened form he realized. He would have to make do with the one blade he had been able to call. That one had nearly been too much already he had to admit to himself. Slightly shaken he got back to his feet.  
He located the stairs that led upwards, the only exit the room offered, and followed them towards freedom. His anger still burned bright inside him as he stepped into the sun. 

Kaltos had left the small village behind without incident. As much as he had liked to destroy it simply to announce his presence he knew that that was to be impossible, for now at least. Likewise the inhabitants of the small village where smart enough to know when not to engage with a traveler, and the guy who was a good head taller than most of them, shirtless and holding a giant sword casually in one hand was certainly one they skittered out of the way of. And all of that was without either of them seeing his eyes or knowing what he was. 

The sun was already high up in the sky, burning down on the dirt road that Khzaar had been following. He was slender in build, his form elvish but small for an elf. His skin was pale, bordering on sick, and his hair was short and organized in messy spikes, the color of embers in the glowing sun. His eyes were a mix of ash-gray and burning orange, the only part of him that betrayed his own demonic inheritance. He didn’t have a set goal in mind as he ambled down the road, simply following it. Generally his mind was occupied with the shard he had found just this morning. It had simply been sitting in the bushes besides the road, clearly magical in origin. Curiously, its aspect was clearly demonic but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what domain it originated from. Or where it had come from, just sitting out in the open. Now it was securely stowed in his bags, waiting until he’d have time to inspect it closer.  
This was how it came that he hadn’t noticed the other traveler on the road until he could feel him. He stopped and looked up, only to freeze as terror seized him. The entity that came down the road, and was already way too close to be dodged, certainly wasn’t just another mortal. His eyes widened as he stared at him.  
“L-Lord Kaltos!” The demon breathed, awestruck by the demon lords mere presence, his tongue acting without bothering his brain with thoughts. It was impossible that this one was here. 

Cold anger and hate sprayed from the pure violet eyes as Kaltos fixed on the creature that had dared to speak his name. This one was not a mortal, clearly. The fact that it knew his name was evidence enough to him. But it was also not one of his domain. The crossed the few steps still separating the two demons and grabbed the weaker creature by it’s throat, lifting it off the ground until it was on eye-level with him.  
“You know who I am? What I am?” He demanded. 

Khzaar fidgeted, trying to get out of the other’s grasp, his brain still not quite caught up with him.  
“E-Everyone knows who you are. You are Kaltos, demon lord of chaos.” A legend, banished into a special prison for centuries now leaving the domain of chaos in, well chaos. But he couldn’t be here. 

“Who are you, then?” Kaltos asked impatient. 

“My name is Khzaar, mylord, at your service.” By now he had gone mostly limp, resigned to the fact that he would not get away. 

For a long moment Kaltos simply stared at the creature in his grasp. A fire demon, he knew by now.  
“Pathetic.” He announced and increased the pressure of his hand slightly. He enjoyed the panic that settled into the lesser demons eyes. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t end you.” He demanded. 

Of course Khzaar panicked, knowing full well that the demon lord would probably destroy him simply because he was part of the wrong domain. Or maybe even just for the fun of it.  
“I’ll be useful to you mylord.” He croaked, trying desperately to think of something clever to say. Then it hit him, his hands desperately fumbling with the pouches on his belt. “I-I have this a-and I’m sure you’ll want it back.” He tried, trembling fingers holding the shard out to the other demon. 

The demon lords eyes fixated on the shard, its energy pulsing sweetly. He grabbed the crystal, as long as the lesser demons hand but slim in width, and threw the creature into the dirt at his feet. Khzaar was clever enough not to move, simply staying sprawled where he had landed on his back staring up at the mightier demon as Kaltos closed his hand around the crystal, absorbing this shard as well. Finally he looked back down at the demon at his feet.  
“Why did you have that? What did you plan to use it for?” Probably to further his own lords powers, he imagined. 

“I simply found it, just this morning. I didn’t plan to use it at all.” Khzaar stated. In the next second he swallowed thickly. Maybe a bit more truth for this one. “W-well I did plan to see if I could use it myself, b-but that was before I realized you were here. I wouldn’t have dreamed to take it from you. It obviously belongs only to yourself.” He had hoped to gain power from the artifact, but a thing so out of his domain could never truly yield it’s power to him. 

Kaltos laughed roughly.  
“My thanks then, Khzaar.” He growled as he drew his sword from his back. “In return, your demise will be quick.” He announced before he stepped over the other. 

The blade was already at his throat when Khzaar found his voice again.  
“Wait!” He cried, reaching out with one of his hands. Still he closed his eyes, believing his end to have come.  
He was astonished when the sharp edge of the weapon stopped, pressing him to the ground but not doing anything more. It drew a thin trickle of blood when he breathed, but he could not calm the panicked half-gasps he took.  
Very slowly he opened his eyes, following the blade from his throat up to the demon lord standing over him. Panic and pure mortal fear swam in his eyes as he looked into these purple eyes, but he knew he couldn’t simply expect mercy from one as this. The quick death he had been promised was very probably the only kind of mercy he could ever get. The impatience that met him forced him to speak up again.  
“I… I’ll be useful to you, I swear it! I’ll be yours, your servant. I’ve been here for years, I can help you. Please. Give me a chance.” 

The muscles in the demon lords’ arms tightened as he listened to the lesser demons whining pleas.  
“I am sure your current lord would not appreciate that.” He stated, enjoying watching the smaller creature blanch. 

“Balgorth is n-“ Balgorth is not here, he had wanted to say but thought better of it at the very last moment. That would not be enough to assure the lord of his loyalty, even if it was true. It didn’t matter what demon lord stood before him, one in his position would swear to follow either one of them if it meant surviving the encounter. Demon lords where known to destroy lesser demons where they stood, no matter their domain, simply because they dared to enter their sight. He swallowed, before he started over.  
“Balgorth is nothing compared to you. He can’t do anything that you could.” He tried to appeal to the others feeling of superiority. “I swear I’ll be loyal only to you, the greatest of all demon lords. Just give me a chance to prove myself. Please.”  
Even to himself he sounded pathetic and panicked, he knew he was just begging for his life by now but maybe he had a chance. That was probably something that appealed to the mightier demon in some form. It had to, the fact that he was still alive to beg attested to that. 

Kaltos knew most of the words spilling from the lesser demons mouth were simply what that one hoped he’d want to hear. He knew that he simply wanted to save his own hide. Lesser demons could not be trusted, they were too weak to be useful for much and all together spineless creatures.  
But he also knew that he could use a servant, one that might be knowledgeable enough to be at least a little help in navigating this realm. And after all he was at his weakest right now. He waited for a long while until he addressed the other again, letting him stew in his fear for just a bit longer.  
“Very well. You may serve me, but if I have a feeling that you even think about betraying me it’ll be the last thing you do.” He announced coldly. The sword left the lesser demons throat a moment later. “Come.” He said and simply walked past the fire demon to continue on his way. 

Khzaar stared at the spot where Kaltos had just stood in disbelief. It had worked! He was alive. Lesser demons like him did not survive an encounter with demon lords, but he had. 

“I-I wouldn’t dream of betraying you, mylord!” He cried out as he climbed to his feet. His shaky right hand rubbed over his throat, where a thin red line reminded him of the consequences that had nearly befallen him unprovoked.  
He hurried to follow his new lord, this incarnation of chaos that had stepped into this world. He would have to be loyal to this one he knew, but it was a small thing to give. He would have given him his true name had he asked for it, just so he could remain breathing. 

“Good. Then you might yet live another day.” Kaltos stated, a cruel smile playing over his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaltos is a character that I really love and had for a long time. Initially he was the main antagonist to Zaru from "The Staff of Maestras" but I do think he'd deserve his own story. He's really grown to be so much more than just the wolf-demon he initially was.  
> Khzaar on the other hand is a character that I really like and invented just for this, mostly because Kaltos can't just be on his own. 
> 
> Now, I am not entirely sure where I'd take this if I was to continue it. If I want to mainly focus on Kaltos and Khzaar here, who are really simply the bad guys, or if I want to introduce some more traditional heroes to the mix. Or simply split it a bit and follow many characters. 
> 
> Tell me what you think if you read this, plleeease?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, there's another piece. I wanted more of Khzaar so here is a bit more.  
> I'm the most surprised actually.  
> Just two scenes, probably not even amounting to a real chapter but whatever.  
> I might do a direct follow-up to this one at some point, but for now I'll leave it as-is. Still let me know if you'd want to hear how this plays out, maybe I'll be inspired.  
> Also a handful of scenes that are in my head but are all even smaller and more insignificant than the ones here so I might not actually put them down.

The light in the low cellar room was dim, as it always was when he dealt with these kinds of people. For his own elvish eyes, and his demonic powers on top of that, that hardly posed any kind of obstacle so really these people where always just hindering themselves. 

Khzaars eyes roamed over the short, and slightly overweight, human that stood opposing him. The man was greedy, selfish and all around detestable, but good for business generally. For the right price that man would probably sell his children to him, it just needed to be profitable. He smiled his best vulpine smile as he dug his hand into one of his pockets. From it, he produced one of the smaller violet crystals they had found in the last days.  
“This.” He announced as he opened his fist and held the piece towards the candlelight “is what my contact is looking for. Ever seen anything like it?” He inquired. 

The humans eyes widened a bit and he licked his lips. “Ah, let me see. Maybe I-” The man had extended his hands towards Khzaar and the crystal as he talked. 

The demon closed his fist around the crystal, faster than the human could have possibly reacted, and withdrew his hand just out of his reach. Purple flames blossomed between his fingers as he glowered at the man. “Ahahah. You don’t need to touch that.” He chided, like one would a child.  
In fact his stomach turned at the thought of the human getting his grubby, fat fingers on this artifact. It had been a chore to persuade his Lord to give him the piece at all and a second one to convince him that he could be trusted to go to his human contact alone with it. If he lost it, Lord Kaltos would most probably pull his intestines out through his mouth or do something of similar creative cruelty to punish him for his failure. He had seen what he was capable of without any greater powers in the last few days and had no intentions of experiencing any of it himself. 

Khzaar let the flames die out again after the human had snatched his hand back. He managed to overplay his momentary worry as he spoke again, voice light and with just a slight air of superiority. “I asked you if you’ve seen something like it before, I did not invite you to take this piece. I promise you, you don’t want to cross my contact.” He managed an almost sincere smile with these words, his white teeth flashing with just the right edge to them.  
He opened his hand once more to present the crystal, unharmed by the flames. It pulsed just lightly in the dim light. “Now, again. Have you seen, or perhaps heard of, anything like this? My contact will of course pay handsomely for each one found.” He promised jovially to overplay most of the tense atmosphere created a moment before. Wouldn’t do to ruin his reputation, after all. 

This time the human, still slightly bug-eyed, was wiser and kept his hands to himself. He eyed the false elf with new suspicion as he leaned just a bit closer to the crystal. Finally, he looked thoughtfully over the bit presented to him.  
After a moment, he shook his head and licked his lips once again. “I fear I can’t say I possess a thing like this. Nor do I think I have sold one in the past.” He admitted. There was still greed in his eyes. 

The redhead pocketed the crystal again, to get the temptation away from the human. He hummed a regretful note as he did so. He saw the disappointment in the other mans eyes as he did so.  
Next he fingered the bag of gold tied to his belt, as if in thought. He also took note of the way the other mans eyes followed the movement of his fingers. This one was really exceptionally easy to play with, he mused. Out loud he said: “Well, a shame…” 

The man coughed uncomfortably. One could see the gears in his head turning. “Suppose I could, ah, keep my ears out for you? You know I have some contacts, maybe someone knows something. It is possible that someone, ah, comes into possession of one.” 

Khzaar suppressed a smile as his fingers left the pouch. “Oh, I suppose you could.” His voice held lingering doubt. 

“Khaz, you know I am a reliable man. I will do what I can to help you find those... trinkets you are looking for.” The man hurried to assure him. 

Khzaar fought the need to scowl at the stupid human for butchering his name. Again. It was like teaching a rodent to write a book, an absolutely useless endeavor, so he had stopped correcting him. “Oh, I know just how reliable you are.” He said, just the hint of a warning without an open accusation. Still he nodded. “Well if you are offering, I will be the last to decline a useful service of an old friend.” He announced. He freed the purse from his belt and held it forward. The string was still wrapped securely around his fingers tough.  
“Of course it goes without saying that any information you happen to come across goes to me, exclusively. Any foul play, and you’ll regret it.” 

“You wound me, Khaz.” The human gasped in his version of mock outrage. “I wouldn’t dream of deceiving you!” 

“I’m sure.” Khzaar replied evenly, unimpressed. “Still, see this as an incentive to remain honest.”  
He dropped the bag of gold into the humans hurriedly outstretched hands. “There’s more if you turn any found pieces over to us, of course. Reach me through the usual channels.” He continued. 

The man nodded. “Of course, of course.” He agreed, already weighting his bounty in his hand. A moment later he remembered himself visibly, as he looked back up. “Anything else I can do for you, my esteemed friend?” He asked, voice slick. 

Khzaar shook his head. “No, that was everything I came here for today. My thanks, until next time.” Another vulpine smile, before Khzaar bowed with a flourish and left the human behind. 

The fire demon returned directly to the camp they had made outside the city. Once there he returned the crystal from his pocket to his Lord before he had fully approached him. He bowed to his lord as he held out the artifact. “I return, Mylord.” He announced. 

Kaltos snatched the crystal out of his servants hand impatiently. He had really waited long enough already, and he was still not entirely sold on the idea of dealing with the humans the way the lesser demon had proposed. Still, it would not hurt him any and he did not have the energy to level the city anyway. “And?” He demanded, hating that he had to ask at all. 

Khzaar did not look at the demon lord as he answered. “My man did not have any crystal pieces himself, but I did not really expect him to. He is a slimy fellow even for a human, but with the right incentive, he was persuaded to help looking. He will not dare to betray me, because I do have a reputation amongst his sort.” Namely that of taking a piece of those who did try to backstab him in the past. Plus, he had made an impression with his fire show earlier he was sure. 

Kaltos eyes were hard as he stood towering over the lesser demon. “So, effectively you have nothing and rely on a human to give you something, at some point.” He accused. 

Khzaar swallowed. “Mylord, please don’t look at it like that. The human will simply gain us more ears and eyes to look for your missing property. Humans are greedy by nature and that means if any find your crystals they‘ll try to either use them or sell them. If they sell them around here my contact will hear of it, which means we’ll hear about it. Shifting through the underworld here is tedious at best, and gets only more trying if we go and terminate every one we can find.” 

Kaltos growled at him. “Careful what you’re saying there, worm.” 

Khzaar’s eyes widened. “My-Mylord I surely didn’t mean any o-offense. I m-merely thought to conserve your powers for more worthy endeavors than petty thieves and thugs.” He stammered. 

“Is that so? How thoughtful of you.” Kaltos smiled a predators smile at him. “Anyway, we’ll see if this results in anything.” 

They had spent the last week scouring the countryside, looking for the crystals. Kaltos had in fact gotten several new pieces already, but of course the Demon Lord wasn’t satisfied. The times he had, most of the time quite messily, dispatched the unlucky blokes who’d had the shards hadn’t quite helped either. For him it all went too slow, his powers were after all still only a fraction of what they should be. 

Khzaar was sitting in a shady tavern with his Lord, sipping on his mug of mediocre ale. He couldn’t help but feel nervous, because Kaltos was here. Because Kaltos would probably make a mess of things if something unforeseen happened.  
He hadn’t wanted to take the Demon Lord to the city at all. He had simply cautiously told him that he needed to be seen once in a while if the human he had paid should be of any help at all. He hadn’t planned for the more powerful demon to come with him, but he hadn’t been able to think of a reason to refuse him when he said that he’d come with him. 

The fire demon drained his mug after Kaltos had already done the same a while before. At least the other demon seemed to find no offense in sitting here and drinking for a while, he mused.  
Khzaar wordlessly rose and grabbed both mugs to go and fetch new drinks. He found it easier if the Demon Lord had as little actual contact with the people here as possible so he avoided waiting for the serving wrenches to turn up by themselves. 

He was approached by a blonde woman as he returned from the bar with his two new mugs. “Are you Khzaar?” She asked him as she stepped into his way. 

He stopped in his tracks and gifted her a smile as he looked her over. “Depends who’s asking, and why, Mylady.”  
She was young, pretty and way too clean to be in a place like this. But, she knew his name so he was intrigued. Usually he’d also be happy to fool around with her for a bit, maybe flirt and see where that would lead him, but he knew that was just asking for disaster right now. 

“I’ve been send for you, because I’ve heard you are looking for certain… gems.” She offered. 

Khzaar tilted his head to the side. So, she was business and serious business at that. “Maybe I am. What about that?” He inquired, still smiling pleasantly. 

The woman did not react to his smile and seemed annoyed in fact. She pressed a piece of paper into his free hand. “Well, if you are still looking, take this.” She huffed. With that she turned from him and left. 

Khzaar glanced down at the paper in his hand. An address, a time and a name. He made a face. He knew that name. So the girl had just been a messenger, maybe in hopes of getting his attention easier if there was a female looking for him. He let the scrap disappear into his sleeve before he went back towards the table. 

“Who was that?” The Demon Lord asked as the lesser demon took his seat again, nodding towards the direction the female had went off to. 

Khzaar felt annoyed by the Lords questioning but swallowed his frustration as he slid one of the mugs over the table. “Apparently she was sent by someone who had what we are looking for. She gave me a meeting point, that’s all.” He explained. “It’s in the city, in the middle of the night. I know the place.” He hadn’t been there personally yet, but he knew about it. He hadn’t conducted business personally yet, always through messengers and by proxy, but apparently this time was going to be different. He took a deep draft from his ale. 

“Then we will be there tonight and see.” Kaltos stated. 

“We?” Khzaar coughed in shock, nearly choking on his drink. For a while he stared, his mouth opening and closing stupidly. The Demon Lord was serious though and probably didn’t see a reason why that could be a problem. Once again Khzaars usually golden tongue deserted him and he could not find a way to refuse the other and survive. He could hardly tell him that he was going to blow it.  
So he conceded to the stronger ones will and bowed his head in acceptance. “If you wish…” 

“Of course. It is a part of me we are talking about.” The demon glowered. Thankfully, he had kept his voice mostly down. 

Khzaar closed his eyes in defeat. “Of course, Mylord.” He agreed. Then he took a breath before continuing. “But please, I beg you Mylord, leave the talking to me. I know his sort and I know what to say and how to act to get what we are… what you are looking for. Just, please let me do this my way and don’t... don’t kill him needlessly. If word gets around that people who talk to me get violently killed no one will talk to me and we’ll have to level the whole city to find out if they still have any crystals. Ok?” He glanced over into those violet eyes, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to read much of anything in them. 

The Demon Lord stared at him for several moments before he grunted in annoyance. “Fine. I will keep silence if you don’t mess this up.” He promised. 

Khzaar couldn’t help but breath a breath of relief. “I won’t, Mylord.” He promised, before he drank deeply.


End file.
